Resurrect HoJo's on Asbury Park boardwalk
I was pleased to read in Sunday's Press that new investors plan to revive the Howard Johnson's restaurants. http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/NEWS/606110422. It would be terrific to see a new HoJo's open somewhere along the redeveloped Asbury Park boardwalk.
At one time, there were more than 1,200 restaurants in the Howard Johnson's group; with the recent closing of the Asbury Park HoJo's, only four remain. (See the hojoland.com Web site http://hojoland.homestead.com/ for everything you ever wanted to know, and more, about HoJo's -- past, present and future.)
Howard Johnson's was the McDonald's and Burger King of the '50s and '60s. As a youngster, whenever my family traveled, we always stopped at a HoJo's along the way. I was hooked on the butter-fried hot dogs on the butter-slathered toasted buns and the vanilla shakes. When I was a little older, 11 or 12, the major appeal was the Fish Fry nights. For some of them I was served by my sister, who waitressed at HoJo's in Clark, proudly wearing the orange and green.
After most of the HoJo's in New Jersey closed, I got my fix with Howard Johnson's chicken croquettes and macaroni and cheese, which were available in supermarkets. They still make them today, but they aren't easy to find. When I worked in Manhattan in 2001 and 2002, I would occasionally stop in at the HoJo's in Times Square for a pick-me-up dog and a shake. That location closed last summer.
Nostalgia is in. Nostalgia is marketable. Asbury Partners and its new retail partners in the city's oceanfront redevelopment project, Madison Marquette, should explore the possibility of bringing the orange-tiled roof back to the boardwalk. It would be a surefire hit -- at least with me.
At one time, there were more than 1,200 restaurants in the Howard Johnson's group; with the recent closing of the Asbury Park HoJo's, only four remain. (See the hojoland.com Web site http://hojoland.homestead.com/ for everything you ever wanted to know, and more, about HoJo's -- past, present and future.)
Howard Johnson's was the McDonald's and Burger King of the '50s and '60s. As a youngster, whenever my family traveled, we always stopped at a HoJo's along the way. I was hooked on the butter-fried hot dogs on the butter-slathered toasted buns and the vanilla shakes. When I was a little older, 11 or 12, the major appeal was the Fish Fry nights. For some of them I was served by my sister, who waitressed at HoJo's in Clark, proudly wearing the orange and green.
After most of the HoJo's in New Jersey closed, I got my fix with Howard Johnson's chicken croquettes and macaroni and cheese, which were available in supermarkets. They still make them today, but they aren't easy to find. When I worked in Manhattan in 2001 and 2002, I would occasionally stop in at the HoJo's in Times Square for a pick-me-up dog and a shake. That location closed last summer.
Nostalgia is in. Nostalgia is marketable. Asbury Partners and its new retail partners in the city's oceanfront redevelopment project, Madison Marquette, should explore the possibility of bringing the orange-tiled roof back to the boardwalk. It would be a surefire hit -- at least with me.
posted by Randy Bergmann at 12:56 PM
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